With smart phones and portable computers becoming more popular, there is a desire for users of these portable computers to continue to see improvements to portability and performance.
However, one difficulty encountered by designers of these portable computers and other electronic devices is that the battery capacity remains a big hurdle to building a desirable device. Although battery technology is improving, the innovations in battery technology are not moving at the same pace as the increase in power consumption of these portable devices. As a result, users are relying on portable power banks to keep their devices powered.
These portable power banks are helpful in that they can provide a fairly high level of extra battery capacity for users of portable electronic devices. Often, once a user finds his or her device running out of charge, the extra battery can be used to recharge the device without the need of a mains power supply. However, despite their higher capacity, these portable power banks nevertheless suffer from the same problems as the smart phones and portable computers they are designed to power, that is, eventually, these portable battery banks will require a mains power socket or car power socket to recharge its battery. Thus such devices will not be useful for any significant lengths of time if users intend on being away from a mains socket for a long time (e.g. on an outdoor trek that last for days)